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Nov 16, 2014 | 01:09

U.S. must "destroy and defeat ISIS": Romney

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney tells the Face the Nation news program the U.S. must ''destroy and defeat ISIS,'' in reaction to the purported beheading of U.S. hostage Peter Kassig. (No reporter narration).

TRANSCRIPT +

NO REPORTER NARRATION
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, speaking on the CBS Face the Nation news program on Sunday (November 16), reacted to the purported beheading of U.S. hostage Peter Kassig after Islamic State militants released a new video.
Islamic State militants said in the video they had beheaded U.S. hostage Peter Kassig and warned the United States they would kill other U.S. citizens "on your streets".
"As a result of the mistakes that have been made in the past on the President's part, we now have terrible visions being shown on TV and of course a threat to ourselves in the homeland. And the right course for this nation is to do whatever it takes to destroy and defeat ISIS," Romney said in reference to President Barack Obama.
The announcement of Kassig's death, in what would be the fifth such killing of a Western captive by the group, formed part of a 15-minute video posted online in which Islamic State showed the beheadings of at least 14 men it said were pilots and officers loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
In Washington, Obama's National Security Council (NSC) said the U.S. government was working to confirm the authenticity of the claim.
Other Western leaders and officials also condemned the killing.
The video did not show Kassig's beheading but showed a masked man standing with a decapitated head covered in blood lying at his feet. Speaking in English in a British accent, the man says: "This is Peter Edward Kassig, a U.S. citizen."
Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the footage, which appeared on a jihadist website and on Twitter feeds used by Islamic State.

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